On a bright morning in the Bethnal Green oasis that is Saint Matthew’s Church gardens, six GoodGymers tackled a sun-drenched task. I got to the church on time after ParkRun, but Lucinda wasn’t going to miss her post-ParkRun coffee. I was going to football, so left the St Matthew’s "pitch", appropriately at half-time, to be replaced by substitute Lucinda

Chandrima, Chloe, Emma and Kareem put in proper shifts and everyone worked hard. There was a large walnut tree in the centre of an earth bed, but if anyone had fancied a walnut, they'd have been thwarted by the mass of foliage surrounding it. It looks a bit like nettle, but it didn’t sting like one. Until someone plunged his thin-gloved hand into a bunch of the green leaves, and got more than a bit stung. That was grasping the nettle all right…

We soon cleared half the area, making sure we got the roots to prevent re-growth. Task owner Andrea was a delight, very grateful for our help, and wanted us back as soon as we could arrange it. She even supplied refreshments, including more bars of chocolate. We’re getting used to this!

Thanks a lot to Chandrima for setting up the task, and Emma for the pictures. And well done newbie Chloe for attending four tasks in six days!

Great to be back at Nightingale Estate for this special session for the launch of our Workout for the Future Campaign. We were joined by Deputy Mayor Mete Coban, who visited to see the impact of GoodGym's work in the local community. And welcome to new runners Gemma and Suzi

It started with Denzel , Dan, Louise, Katie, Robert and Ivo running 2k from Usual Objections, a running shop that provides top quality running clothes. Definitely check them out if you are in the area, you can even see the clothes being made in front of you.

After a catch up and a warm up we ran to Nightingale Estate. Cheered on by the local school kids and a nice sunny run through the Hackney streets and Hackney Downs Park.

We arrived to join our fellow GoodGymers and got introduced to the Nightingale Parklet which is an important green space for local residents on the estate. After a briefing by task owners Nicky and Alice we set off to clear weeds, tidy up the green space and some of us helped a resident clear their front garden of weeds and a metal wired fence which is a bit of an eye sore.

Deputy Mayor Mete Coban joined the team to help with trimming foliage and lifting garden waste. Good job everyone!

We ended the session hearing from residents about why these green spaces matter so much to the estate. It was a great way to kick off our new campaign.

Great job all, see you next time.